HAO hair days Rising Stylists | Between Milan and Paris, Daryl Is Redefining the Overseas Hair Experience with Natural Cuts and an Unhurried Pace

For many Asians living abroad, finding a hairstylist can feel like a leap into the unknown. Adjusting to a new city's hard water and climate is hard enough; add a language barrier and different beauty standards, and finding a stylist who truly understands Asian hair and your way of life often takes round after round of trial and error.

HAO hair days' Rising Stylists series visits Asian hairstylists working around the world. This time we sat down with Daryl — a 24-year-old stylist currently based in Milan and about to set off for Paris — to talk about his career journey from Taiwan to Europe, what culture shock taught him, and how his natural cutting philosophy helps Asians abroad regain a sense of control over their hair.

Finding Balance Between Two Cultures — in Life and in Aesthetics

After studying hairdressing at a vocational school in Taiwan and completing his military service, Daryl decided to head to Europe to explore what his career could become. In three years in Milan he has worked with Japanese and Chinese teams and taken part in on-location shoots with local Italian crews.

Having worked three years in Taiwan's industry, Daryl has felt the contrast deeply. Taiwanese salons are famous for their attention to service detail and the almost telepathic sensitivity of "reading the room" — helping guests with their coats, warning them about steps, an entire choreography of invisible care. In Europe, apart from Japanese owners who still hold to that pursuit of perfect detail, Italians bring a more natural, boundary-free way of connecting.

"Italian clients love sharing their personal lives — eight out of ten are wonderful talkers. Italian grandmothers are as warm as Taiwanese grandmas, while French ladies carry a kind of elegant distance," Daryl says with a laugh. His time in Milan has given him more than culture shock: it has given him space to be alone, to think, and to work out what he really wants from a workplace and a life.

Natural Cuts and Structured Consultations: Turning a Communication Gap into the Right Haircut

Daryl's specialty is women's haircuts — especially natural styles that still look right without much daily styling. In a market that leans toward Parisian balayage and blonde-on-fair-skin aesthetics, he stays precise about what Asian clients actually need.

He has noticed that many Asians newly arrived in Milan share the same anxieties: hair loss from hard water, not knowing which products to buy, not knowing where to find the right stylist. With new clients, Daryl's first step is always to settle their minds: "I tell them hair loss is something everyone runs into when they first arrive, so there's no need to panic." He then asks about their daily life in detail and gives them a direction for troubleshooting, along with product suggestions for the most common problems.

In consultations, Daryl weighs a client's occupation, whether they're a student or working professional, their styling habits, their wardrobe, and their face shape. Reference images — or a Hair Brief — are a tool he genuinely rates: "Showing clients pictures builds a concrete shared image and saves enormous communication cost. AI tools are great for inspiration, but they can't replace a stylist's judgment in the chair — like spotting a hidden natural wave. That still takes a professional's experience."

Salon Time as Chill as a Glass of Spumante: Care Advice for Asians Abroad

For Daryl, a haircut is never just technique — it's how you build a connection. He remembers a wine importer based in Australia who came in for a cut; halfway through, the client's friends turned up with armfuls of sparkling wine and asked if anyone wanted a glass. "Cutting their hair felt like chatting with friends. Completely chill."

For Asians living in Milan or elsewhere in Europe, his most direct home-care advice is blunt: "Never buy the cheap supermarket stuff." He recommends sticking to major brands — L'Oréal, Wella, Kérastase — because their quality is consistent and far less likely to go wrong.

Next month, Daryl sets off for Paris to start a new chapter, planning to stay at least a year. If you're in Paris — or Milan — and looking for a stylist who understands Asian hair, cuts naturally, and is genuinely easy to be around, send him a DM on Instagram to book.

💡 Daryl's Personal Travel-Kit Picks

Whether it's for Europe's hard water or life on the move, these are the products Daryl actually carries:

Kérastase anti-hair-loss bath and Aminexil serum: his rescue in that first week in Milan when hard water triggered shedding — calms the scalp and adds fullness to fine or thinning hair.

Oribe shampoo line: a refined choice for daily care and repair, with texture and scent that both hold up to scrutiny.